Is Febreze Safe for Cats?

What do your guests smell when they walk into your home? As a cat owner, I never want my guests to think that my home “smells like cats”. However, I don’t want to use chemicals in my home that could harm my kitties or myself. When Febreze contacted me to tell me about their air freshening products, I had one big question on my mind. Is Febreze safe for cats?

Pet Owner Concerns About Air Fresheners

My cats are a part of my family. Keeping them safe is a big part of the responsibility that I took on when I adopted them. I want them to be as healthy and happy as they can be for as long as possible.

Air fresheners can bring up a lot of safety concerns for families with pets. There is a lot of information out there that claims that air fresheners are causing illnesses like asthma, putting toxins into the air we breathe, and harming our environment.
With our pets being so much smaller than we are, how are air fresheners affecting their health? What happens when our pets groom themselves and ingest the things that we’ve put into the air in our homes? Could air fresheners be the cause allergic reactions in our pets?

Febreze, part of The Procter & Gamble Company, as well as many other makers of air care products have been hearing the concerns of pet owners. In May, Febreze took part in a first of its kind summit to address the safety and science behind air care products. As an industry, they want to be more transparent and educate their customers so that we can make informed decisions about the products we choose for our homes and families.

4 Important Febreze Ingredients

Febreze has an extensive line of air care products for the air in your home, your fabrics, your car, and more. Both scented and non-scented varieties of their products are available. All products are water-based. The secret behind Febreze’s air care products lies in 4 important Febreze ingredients:

Cyclodextrin
Cyclodextrin is an odor trapping molecule that is derived from corn. It is shaped like a donut that traps odor molecules in its center. It is used for purifying other substances too. A prominent Northwestern University professor believes that it could be used to clean up contaminated water (like in Flint, Michigan). Read the whole article here.

Citric Acid
Love lemons? Citric acid is an odor neutralizer found in lemons and other citrus fruits. When citric acid combines with an odor molecule, it neutralizes that molecules PH so that it is more like that of water.

Reactive perfume ingredients
These odor converters not only take the bad odors out of the air, they change them into pleasant smells. Reactive perfume ingredients bind to odor molecules and change their chemical structure.

What ingredients are NOT found in Febreze? Phthalates, formaldehyde, and flammable propellants!

Pro-tip: When Febreze ingredients combine with odor molecules, they become heavy and fall to the floor and other surfaces. Vacuuming and wiping down surfaces after spraying Febreze into the air can help remove all those molecules from your home for good. It can reduce the amount of them on your cat’s paws and fur too.

What Does Febreze Do to My Cat’s Lungs?

What about my cat’s lungs? That is a big question that comes to mind when I think of air fresheners like Febreze. The answer is regarding the size of the particles used to create the Febreze products.

Scientists at Febreze are carefully monitoring Febreze ingredients to ensure that all the particles in the ingredients are too large to reach our lungs. Their safety range is 85 – 120 microns. Particles of this size will make it into the nasal cavity (which is how we smell things) of a human, dog, or cat, but are quickly cleared from the body. Birds are very sensitive to scent, so they should be removed from any room where you plan to spray Febreze (or other cleaning products), but they can be returned a few minutes afterward.

It takes a very small molecule to reach deep into our lungs or the lungs of a cat or dog. Medications, like inhalers, meant to reach deep lung tissues have particles that are less than 10 microns in size. The particles in Febreze are at least 8X larger than this.

Is Spraying Febreze Safe for My Home and the Environment?

Another safety feature built into Febreze sprays is their nitrogen propellant system. Many air fresheners that use a tradition aerosol can use a liquid hydrocarbon (like propane or butane) to propel their product out of the can. These liquid hydrocarbons are highly flammable (they are the same sorts of liquids you use to light your barbeque grill). Shaking the can causes the liquid hydrocarbon to become pressurized, it rushes to expand, and it pushes the spray droplets apart causing the whooshing sound associated with traditional aerosol sprays.

Febreze is different. All that is in a Febreze spray container is the water-based Febreze ingredients and compressed nitrogen (no toxic ingredients). Since over 70% of the Earth’s atmosphere is made up of nitrogen, the nitrogen poses no threat to the environment. Febreze sprays are non-flammable. In fact, in a demonstration that the Febreze scientists did in front of me at the P&G lab, spraying Febreze put out the flame on a candle.

Pro-Tip: Do NOT shake your Febreze container before spraying it. Shaking the container is not dangerous in any way, but as the Febreze ingredients mix with the nitrogen, it can make it more difficult to get all the product out of the container. Aerosol sprays, on the other hand, do benefit from being shaken.

Is Febreze Safe for Cats? Decide for Yourself.

The reason that Febreze invited me to come to their facility and talk to them about their products is that they want to be more transparent with their customers. They want people like you and me to have accurate information about their products so that we can make informed decisions about which products we will use and how we will use them.

Is Febreze safe for cats? Is Febreze safe for dogs? Febreze wants to make sure that you have all of the tools you need to decide if their products meet the needs of your particular family situation. They are committed to making all Febreze ingredients public (down to 0.01%) by 2019. All but the ingredients to the individual perfumes are available publicly now.
Where can I find a list of Febreze ingredients?

Febreze.com
Febreze.com not only lists all of their ingredients but shows you what they are and how they are used here.

The Smart Label App
With this app on your smartphone, just take a photo of a Febreze product’s barcode and a list of ingredients will pop up.

One last resource that may be helpful is the ASPCA. The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control database is extensive. They, along with your veterinarian, can help you determine if a household product will be a problem for your cat. According to the ASPCA’s Poisonous Household Products article, Febreze does not pose a threat to cats or dogs.

Do you think Febreze is safe for your pets?

Would a Facebook Live session with some of Febreze’s scientists help you with your questions about Febreze? Let me know in the comments below.

31 Comments

Thank you so much! There was a ton of information given at the meeting I had with Febreze. I couldn’t fit it all in this post. I’m glad that Febreze is reaching out to respond to what people are saying about their products.

There are a lot of people who feel the same way as your food servizz gurl. Air fresheners aren’t for everyone. For those who do like to use air fresheners, I think it is great that Febreze is reaching out to customers to give them the facts about their products. We all need to make the product choices that are best for us and the pets that we love! 🙂

Thank you for sharing this. I’m still reluctant to use Febreeze or other odor removing products around my cats. They’re so much smaller than humans…and different…I’m not sure how their systems process these products when inhaled.

That is a big concern! Using products like Febreze is absolutely something that each pet parent should carefully choose for themselves and their pets. Would you be interested in hearing from a veterinarian associated with Febreze? I was offered the opportunity to interview one. Here’s what I know so far: Febreze assured me that due to the sizes of the molecules in the Febreze ingredients, the ingredients cannot reach further into the cat or dog’s respiratory system than their nasal cavity. As far as ingestion of the Febreze ingredients, the ASPCA claims that there is nothing toxic to dogs or cats.

Those sensitivities are the worst! I have that with some scents too. I prefer the scent-free version of Febreze (but my husband loves the scents). Obviously, no product is for everyone or every household.

Thank you very much for this interesting article! I often wondered myself if Febreze does an harm to my two kitties, but since I was not quite sure, I just used more natural way to keep my home fresh. There are definitely alternatives if one is not sure!

You are so welcome! I’m glad I could help you find the facts you needed. You’re right – there are multiple methods for keeping a home smelling fresh. That is one of the reasons that it is so important that Febreze is putting out the facts we need to make the best product choices for the humans and cats in our homes. 🙂

I’ve always heard all these things were bad for my babies so I kicked them to the curb. I used to love my scentsy but I don’t use it anymore. If you have the opportunity to have that facebook live or other educational opportunity I would definitely be interested in hearing more.

Interesting. Cats are so sensitive, I’ve heard that these were not recommended before but haven’t really looked into it myself. We used to use their candles but haven’t in a while. I’ll have to check it out.

I used to use Febreze all the time! Having had an epileptic Husky for years, however, I had to watch all fresheners, sprays, perfumes, candles, you name it, as they could possibly trigger a seizure. I think it is very commendable that they are so transparent and show their ingredients. That will be of great help and very important to pet parents to know that what they are using is indeed safe for use around their pets, especially those with special needs or sensitivities. Thanks for the very informative post!

It must have been really interesting being invited to have a chat with them. I’ve smelled it once and I found it very strong, like it went straight into my lungs. I don’t use any of those products around my animals, and I try to avoid them around myself as well. A very big concern for me is the fact they are part of Proctor & Gamble, a company that tests on animals and I buy cruelty free. I do love your post though, it was so thorough I can’t imagine anyone having any questions after reading it. You’ve certainly provided enough info for every reader to make their own informed decision. Thanks for sharing!!

Given that P&G is a multi-billion dollar corporation with extremely high brand recognition, I’m impressed that they’re having this conversation. I haven’t used air fresheners in years, but I have enough concerns about my hair spray that I won’t spray if they pups are around. I like your tip about wiping down the area where you just sprayed to avoid particulate matter sticking to paws. When I used air freshener it was almost always in the bathroom, so adding a few more wipes over those surfaces certainly wouldn’t hurt anything but the germs!

I used to use this product all the time. However, I had hurts the stories that it wasn’t good for our cats, so I’ve stopped using it. Thank you for an extensive post on the ingredients. I will continue to research it.

I agree with many of the comments here. Thanks for axing the questions. TW and I both have asthma so she doesn’t use any air fresheners. She opens the windows to air the condo when allergens are low and air quality permits. BTW citric acid is much better to use than limonine (sp?) that most products use and is a carcinogen although cats still don’t like the smell of citrus.

I love the transparency in this article, kudos to Febreze for listening to customers & acting on their concerns. I know birds are extremely sensitive to spray cleansers of all kinds so no surprise there. Not shaking the can is a total surprise though. Thanks for sharing this!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

I have seasonal allergies and Mom has lung disesas, so ’cause of that she says, “I am leary of products that are for controlling odors (sprays, potpourres, powders etc.). I’m glad that Febreeze will be soon listing all of its ingredients to the public.” Thanks fur the information.

This is an amazing and informative post! I love febreze and when I worked on a campaign with them a while back I had the same questions for them about dog safety! It’s really important for people to be able to understand exactly how the products work and how to use them in a way that keeps their pets safe!

No. I won’t use any Febreze products around my cats. P&G tests products on live animals which is totally inhumane. There were studies done that showed it killed cats. Remember spraying on the couch actually killed cats & dogs? Now they’re putting it in litter too. I’ve stopped using all their products.

I had heard some things about certain products with Febreze. I just noticed that my new clothes detergent had some Febreze in it, so I was wondering if I needed to run out and get another brand. Not for at least another 18 loads, it seems.

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